Bay Area

HNU Sold To Los Angeles Real Estate Firm

After deciding to shut down at the end of May, the Holy Names University (HNU) Board of Trustees has just sold the 58-acre campus in the Oakland hills to a Los Angeles-based real estate firm, BH Properties, a company with minimal connection to education or to Oakland. Though the price was not revealed, previous reports said the asking price was $70 million.

Published

1 year ago

June 22, 2023

Oakland Post

Leading up to the sale, the HNU board operated mostly in secrecy, not transparent with faculty or students, and ignoring proposals of aid from city and community leaders and educational entities, including two proposals to place an HBCU on the campus.

By Ken Epstein

Though the price was not revealed, previous reports said the asking price was $70 million.

Kimberly Mayfield, Deputy Mayor of Oakland and a former HNU administrator, has worked to save the HNU campus as a site for higher education in Oakland. She is hoping that the new owners will be willing to respond to community needs.

In an interview with the Oakland Post this week, Mayfield said, “I hope they will preserve the campus for educational use, especially for higher education, such as an institution like a Historically Black College or University (HBCU). We need more higher education opportunities here in Oakland. That’s what we’re losing.”

She said was particularly concerned for students who were left in the lurch with debts and unfinished degrees when HNU closed.

BH Properties says it seeks to attract new tenants to continue using the property for academic use.

“We are excited to announce this long-term investment in the Oakland community,” said Jim Brooks, president of BH Properties, in a statement quoted by the San Francisco Chronicle.

“This educational institution has long been a resource to the City of Oakland and the Bay Area, and we expect it to continue to be an asset to the community and its students for years to come,” he said.

“There are many organizations in dire need of educational space, and we believe there will be significant interest in leasing this site,” said Andy Van Tuyle, BH Properties senior managing director, investments, according to a statement quoted by the Chronicle. “The history, location, and amenities provide a unique opportunity to provide facilities for the many educational institutions seeking expansion alternatives.”

With connections to a large charter school network, Alliance College-Ready Public Schools, BH Properties owns property throughout the country. Since it was founded in 1994. the company has about 10 million square feet of commercial assets and 2,100 multifamily units.

Betting on a “dramatic and troubling increase” in defaults, foreclosures, receiverships and bankruptcy filings across the country, the company created a $200 million fund to target distressed assets in response to the pandemic in 2020.

“BH Properties sees a growing opportunity to acquire attractive real estate by buying non-performing loans over the next few months as raising borrowing costs make refinancing harder and harder. The choppier the markets get, the better for groups like us that thrive on these market disruptions,” Brooks said in an interview in July 2022 on a real estate website, Real Estate Capital USA.

Brokers David Klein and Jeff Moeller of Lee & Associates are leasing agents for the HNU property.

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Op-Ed Senate Bill 966 Threatens Health Equity in East Bay

My East Bay community is struggling to get by. A proposed State Senate bill would set us back even further. Serving the East Bay community has been my life’s work and my greatest joy. After leaving the Bay Area to complete my seminary, I returned home to found The Community Church in Oakland. From the outset of my time as the church’s pastor, I have been guided by the belief that my service must extend beyond the pulpit, because the health and economic needs of my community are so great. Our church has organized free food banks, COVID-19 testing clinics, and a housing and re-entry program for those suffering from addiction.

Published

1 week ago

July 19, 2024

Oakland Post

Rev. Dr. Lawrence E. VanHook

By Rev. Dr. Lawrence E. VanHook

Special to the Post

My East Bay community is struggling to get by. A proposed State Senate bill would set us back even further.

Serving the East Bay community has been my life’s work and my greatest joy. After leaving the Bay Area to complete my seminary, I returned home to found The Community Church in Oakland.

From the outset of my time as the church’s pastor, I have been guided by the belief that my service must extend beyond the pulpit, because the health and economic needs of my community are so great. Our church has organized free food banks, COVID-19 testing clinics, and a housing and re-entry program for those suffering from addiction.

Through my service, I have seen the challenges that our community members are facing. Oakland, my hometown, has the third-highest rate of violent crime in the state. The local economy is strained. Oakland-based businesses are leaving our community because they’re struggling to get ahead.

Both East and West Oakland has disproportionately high rates of respiratory illness due to heavy air pollution. While our local efforts have brought some aid to those in need, we are also counting on our state elected officials to help us address the systemic health disparities afflicting the community.

Chief among the health concerns of community members is having reliable and affordable access to prescription drugs. Equitable access to medications gives us the peace of mind that we can keep ourselves and our families healthy and safe. Our community should not have to choose between paying rent or purchasing prescriptions.

Unfortunately, rather than taking action to combat soaring prescription drug prices, some California lawmakers are pushing legislation that could raise patient costs at the pharmacy counter.

The Legislature is currently considering SB 966, a bill backed by special interests that would undercut the few tools we have to keep prescription drug costs contained, letting big drug companies increase their prices, profiting on the backs of working families – some of whom already live paycheck to paycheck.

SB 966 would target the fundamental programs through which small businesses, unions, and government health programs are able to offer their employees and members quality and affordable healthcare. Millions of Californians rely on these plans to obtain essential medications at the lowest-possible cost.

The bill would make it illegal for employers and unions to incentivize the administrators of their prescription drug plans to negotiate for the lowest possible cost for prescriptions. Right now, small businesses and unions can choose to pay these administrators more for taking on big drug companies and securing discounts – a choice that will be outlawed under this bill.

As a result, employers will have no leverage to stop big drug companies from setting sky-high prices, disproportionately impacting working families.

As these health costs quickly add up, employers will have little choice but to pass the increases down to their employees. That means California patients will see higher healthcare costs and co-pays.

From my perspective, most concerning is that the bill would exacerbate the health disparities impacting my community and other underserved populations. If SB 966 becomes law, the most vulnerable may be forced to skip prescription doses, stop filling their prescriptions, and avoid essential care.

By rejecting this cash grab by big drug companies, our state elected officials can send a clear message that they stand with the community, patients, and working families.

We cannot afford SB 966.

Rev. Dr. VanHook is the founder and pastor of The Community Church in Oakland and the founder of The Charis House, a re-entry facility for men recovering from alcohol and drug abuse.